Recent cartoon series “Rick and Morty” is one that defies all expectations of every day, silly and unoriginal cartoons. This series is one that brings a fresh breath to the animated television genre due to it introducing a great deal of interesting plots and developed characters.

Detailing the insane adventures of super-genius Rick Sanchez and his dimwitted grandson Morty, “Rick and Morty” is a hilarious sci-fi adventure that everyone should pay attention to.

Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, the creator of “Community,” this show is a not-so-subtle parody of Doc and Marty from “Back to the Future.” In fact, the show originates from a short film titled “The Real Animated Adventures of Doc and Mharti” that Roiland made in an attempt to see how many cease and desist letters he could get from Universal Studios.

This perfectly encapsulates the tone of the show, which ranges from grotesque parodies to strange jabs at people’s daily routines and the world around them.

The centerpiece of the show, Rick, is a darker, more cynical parody of Doc Brown, who, instead of creating a time-traveling DeLorean in his lab, creates a flying saucer-esque spaceship in his garage made from spare parts and duct tape.

Then there’s Morty, the Marty to Rick’s Doc Brown, who at first appears to be, for lack of a better word, stupid (this is actually a major plot point in the Season 1 episode “Close Encounters of the Rick Kind,” where Morty’s dumb brainwaves help hide Rick’s genius ones).

The show also focuses on the rest of the family, Morty’s sister Summer, and their parents Beth (voiced by Sarah Chalke of “Scrubs”) and Jerry (voiced by Chris Parnell of popular television show Saturday Night Live) as they try to live out their lives while also coexisting with whatever invention Rick has come up with.

While the episodes may have a formula, with an A-plot, Rick and Morty’s adventures, and a B-plot focusing on the family, Harmon and Roiland do a great job of keeping the ideas fresh and the jokes funny.

In the show, all of the characters feel real instead of being mindless joke machines, such as characters in popular adult cartoons “Family Guy” and “American Dad,” which gives the show the necessary depth to offset the humor.

The writers do a great job of developing each character. People can see that Rick isn’t infallible, that despite his intelligence, he does screw up. The writers also show Morty’s struggle as he tries to keep up with the world that his grandfather has thrust him into.

Even the side characters, the ones introduced purely for the episode they’re in, prove to be well-written with distinct personalities.

So far, the reaction to “Rick and Morty” has been overwhelmingly positive, having a 100 percent review on Rotten Tomatoes and a 9.3 rating at IMDB.

“Rick and Morty” is a great show with developed, substantial characters and plots that make it a must-see for everyone.

Russell, a freshman Computer Science major from Charlotte, is an opinion writer.